Walking toy



'Abg 1s. 192s.

P. ESSER WALKING TOY Filed March 20. 1923 IN VEN TOR Patented Aug. 18, 1925.

' e are fj dei n Qua" PETER IilSSl'llIt,y OE CLIFTON, NEW' JERSEY.

WALKING kmov.

Application led March 20, 1923. Serial No. 626,291.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, PETER Essnn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Clifton, in the county ot Passaic and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in l/Valking Toys, oi' which the following is a specification.

rlhis invention relates to improvements in toys and particularly to types having selfcontaining driving means by which their movable parts are actuated.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a toy, simulative of a human `figure, the legs o1a which are caused to advance the figure, step by step along a surface, thus closely resembling a person in the act oi' skating.

Another purpose is to produce a mechanical toy capable of maintaining its equilibriiun While advancing.

A further aim is in the provision of a toy, representing a skater provided with a stati' or hockey stick and arranged to swing one of its arms in unison with the leg movement, the driving mechanism being Wholly contained interiorly of the igure, obscured from view and guarded from ordinary injury.

These several aims, objects and purposes are accomplished by the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereafter described and shown in thel accompanying drawing, forming part of this disclosure, and in Which:-

Figure 1 is a front view of an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a. side view of' the same, parts being broken away to disclose the construction.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary front elevational vieW of the operative mechanism Vas contained Within the body of the ligure.

In the illustrations the doll-like object` is represented as composed of a body, designated by the numeral 10, a head 11, arms 12 and 13, legs 14: and 15 and feet 16 and 17.

These elements are preferably made hol- 10W, of thin sheet metal, shaped and colored to agree With the object depicted.

The arm 12 is connected to the body by a pivot 18 being otherwise rigid and bent to assume the ordinary positionof a persons arm in Walking.

Both legs are engaged upon a common pivotpin 19 passed through the lower part of the body or, more exactly, the blouse or garment represented as covering the body, at al point near its louter edge central of the object, thus permitting the legs to swing freely back and forth.

Joints are on'iitted at the knees and the lower ends ot the legs are attached by pivots 2O and 21 to the feet 16 and 17 represented as being encasedin shoes.

These shoes are firmly secured upon the lower surfaces of hollow elements 22 and 23 representing skates, having upturned pointed fronts, each being` supported by a pair of rollers 2% and 25 pivoted upon pins 2Gk and 27 fixed transversely in the skate body.

rlfhe rear rollers are considerabl f* lare'- D er in diameter than the front rollers 21 and have fired to their sides ratchet Wheels 28 engaged by paivls 29 loosely pivoted in the skate bodies near their upper rear corners, as shown in Fig. 2.

Extending out-Ward throughthe side of the body, to Which the iixcdarm 13 is tached, is a stem 30 having a thumb knob 31 on its outer end, its inner end being operatively engaged with a Winding device for a flat spiral spring contained in the casing 32 secured Within the body.

This spring acts a motor for energizing a gear 33 meshing With a pinion 34 `(ined on a` spindle 35 having .opposed cranks 36 and 37 vat its opposite ends jand revoluble in the clock Works tra ne comprised of elements 51 and 53 tired inthe body and carrying the spring casing 32. f

The leg 15 is formed Wit-h an extension 3S reaching from `its outer side into the body and contains Van appropriate aperture i1 to receive the crank 36, the extension being oi'lset at the point 39 -to clear the stem 30.

i similar but longer extension Ll0, formed with the leg 14, is engaged in a like manner by the crank 87, thus actuating the legs alternately in opposed relation, the shape of the apertures being such as to produce an effect on the legs closely siinulative of Walking. f

Rigid on the spindle 35 is a gear 4:2 driving a pinion 13 fixed on a. spindle 4:4 having fast-upon it al gear 115 driving a pinion 46 rigid on another spindle 47 carrying the fan 4.8 which acts as a regulator in restraining the speed Within a reasonable limit.

The upwardly reaching portion of the leg extension l0 contains a slot 4:9 in which operates a pin 50 tired in a crank 52 secured to the pivot 18 the inner end of which is journalled in the frame 5l and the outer end,

passing through the body asing lll, has rigidly attached to it the movable arm l2,

causing the arm to oscill-.ite in unison with the lee'.

Fixed to the rigid arm is stadl representing a hoclrey sti-cl; and havirg in its bottom a` roller adapted to e over the surface, slightly raising the stick 'fron the ground, the roller oeing he n in a iorli or clevis 58, having its stein 5T pivoted in a verti plane in the liront e-:tending end o1 the stick 'i3-fl, acting in the manner oit a castor.

in operation the spring motor being wound, the toy is placed on any level snrace whereupon i'irst one skate and then the other is advanced, the rolle-rs facilitating forward movement and the sticlt carried roller moved quite regularly toi-ward in advance of the object.

Due to the pawl and ratchet action the skates, and hence the object, cannot move rearwardly, but each toot maintains its position while the other is moving forward.

As the feet are relatively widely spaced and the stati roller is laterally spaced at side, the object retains its equilibrirnn with ease, further assisted by maintaining a low center of gravity; and, the staff may be turned in the hand to produce a circular movement o' the Object ii` desired.

lt will be obvious that the invention is not conlined to the exact object depicted as it is applicable to a wide range et mechanically operated toys, and farther, that while certain preferred embodinients oi this device have been shown and described, it will be understood that changes in the torni, arrangements, proportions, sizes and details thereof may be made without departing from the scope o1 the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters latent, is

l. A toy simulative ot a living object, comprising a. hollow body, a motor therein, av pair ot legs pivoted to the body, said legs having inreaching extensions, a spindle actuated by said motor, said spindle having a crank at each end operatively engaged in its respective leg extension, arms on said body one of said arms being pivoted and the other rigid, a support carried by the rigid arm, means for swinging said pivoted arm in synchronism to the movement oi one ot said legs, rollers at the ends of said legs, and means to prevent certain of said rollers from moving in a reverse direction.

2. .fr toy simulative ot a living object, comprising a body, a pair of legs pivoted to the body, ieet pivoted to the legs, hollow casings representing skates secured to the feet, a single pair ot rollers arranged in tandem in each sltate, means preventing rcverse movement oll certain of said rollers, means at the side of the body to prevent tipping and means disposed within said body alternately oscillating said legs.

I A toy simulative ot a. living object, comprising a hollow body, a motor therein, a pair of rigid legs pivoted to the body, said legs having inreaching extensions ot unlike length, a toot connected by a single pivot to each leg, elements representing skates fixed on each foot, a pivoted arm on said body operable by the longer ot said leg extensions, a lined arm, a stall carried at the end of the rigid arm, said stati having a. forwardly projecting base, a castor in the base of said stati), motor connections for alternately at vancing said legs, and means in the skates preventing the legs 'from moving baclnvard, said means compelling a forward movement of said body as each leg is advanced.

a. A toy simnlative oit av living object, comprising a hollow body, a motor therein, a. pair of legs pivoted to the body, said legs having inreaching extensions, a spindle actuated by said motor, said spindle having a crank at each end operatively engaged in its respective leg extensions, a pair of rollers at the 'free ends of each leg, a ratchet wheel associated with one roller in each pair, an arm pivoted to said body, means operated by one of said leg extensions for oscillating said arm, a lixed arm on said body, a stalll at vthe end of said tired arm extending in advance of the body, and a roller in said stall' to rest npon the surface over which the object nieves.

In testimony whereot l have. signed my name to this application.

PETER ESSER. 

